inspired photography with just enough perspective
A train passes over the Manatee River in Bradenton Florida. These engines were on their way to pick up oranges for the Tropicana plant down the line. It happens every day at the same time and each time it goes by there are a few people lined up to watch. The people wave, the conductor waves and life goes on as it has for decades. Where would we be if not for the railroads?
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What is it about the reflection of landscape in water that’s appealing? My theory is we’re attracted to things that remind us of ourselves and reflections or what they represent must somehow be a part of our makeup. Be that what it may, I found this scene behind a baseball diamond the other day in my never-ending quest for new locations. It’s a little creek that empties into a river here in Bradenton. The sky, the grass and trees are pleasant elements, but I think the water and reflection combines them all together in a way that that adds up to more than the sum of the parts. And should I take the time to reflect, there might just me a lesson in there somewhere.
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Robinson Preserve is a place I go to get away for an hour or two. There are mangroves and wildlife within and it seemed fitting to end 2014 with a walk among nature and it’s reflections. If I can do a little more of that in 2015 then it will be a good year indeed.
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If you like orange juice then this is your train, right from the Tropicana plant here in Bradenton Florida. I live just a few minutes from here and every evening I hear the sounding of the horn as the train heads north. Now, whenever I’m up north I have a habit of looking at the label on the OJ just to see where it says “Bradenton, FL”. I have no idea why I do that, but I do it just the same, home town pride perhaps. I took this earlier this evening as I walked my dogs near the tracks along the Bradenton Riverwalk.
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Riverwalk in Bradenton Florida. It’s the end of the week and I’m clean out of brain cells. As I lean against an allegorical lamp post and take a little break I think it’s time to slow down, change gears and regroup before another crazy week. I hope you are getting a little break as well; we all work so hard. Nice to just chill once in a while. Dontcha think?
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Meanwhile back in Florida… The clouds do cool things like this all the time, …well a lot of the time. Sometimes I’ll check the local news webcam which is located at the beach to see what the cloud situation is and if it looks good I’ll head over for sunset. Today, by chance, I sat under that same webcam as it’s located at The Beachhouse restaurant. So, while sitting there I got it in my mind to check the webcam, and sure enough the scene in front of me at the beach was unfolding on my iPhone. Weird, I know. No, there’s no point in any of this. Happy Monday everyone.
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This house is the visitor’s center at Robinson Preserve in Bradenton Florida. As you walk through the preserve you see this beyond the grasses. It reminds of a little house on a prairie, only it’s not so little and this isn’t a prairie, but you get the drift. I came here because it has a lot of wide open space and every once in a while a little space is a good thing.
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In art I’m attracted to impressionistic styles. I prefer to let my mind fill in the blanks. I do that a lot in everyday life, I think. My way of dealing with complexity perhaps, a momentary reverie while forming an impression, possibly an opinion. As I’m thinking about it, In general I don’t like being fed too much detail. That’s because my mind automatically fills in the details, not always right, but details nonetheless. I think we all do that, it’s part of what makes us unique, it is part of the filters through which we see the world. It starts with an impression.
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I come here in Bradenton Florida to a place called Riverwalk several times a week to walk my dogs. We have a little routine of sitting on the dock for a spell and watching the sun set. On this day I brought a camera but we didn’t get a sunset because of the clouds. So we started walking back and before we got off the pier I turned back to see this break in the clouds. Even though it’s dark the light is shining through and in some way that seems like a metaphor for hope. Something nice about that don’t you think?
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This is a shot I took last December at Robinson Preserve. I just arrived from the rainy pacific northwest where it was sunny all day to the sunshine state where we have clouds and rain, go figure. This time of year in Florida has a lot of clouds which of course I love but the photo reminded me that we get occasional clouds in winter as well. Sound mixed up? It is. My weather bearings we’re messed up for years when I first moved here, basicly winter is like summer and with all the tropical storms summer is like winter. Had enough? Okay, this concludes today’s message from the Department of Confusion.